Smolensk plaque before the changes that took out Katyn reference; photo - EPA

An official letter published by the presidential office in Warsaw claims that Russian intentions to modify the memorial plaque were not properly communicated to the president until the day before the anniversary ceremonies, in spite of the fact that the Foreign Ministry was fully informed well before hand.

“The news descended on us like a bolt from the blue,” said presidential advisor, Tomasz Nalecz, in a letter published in the Rzeczpospolita newspaper.

Nalecz added that the news came “very late, following the amendment of the plaque.”

The presidential office claims that the Foreign Ministry knew that this may occur five months before the anniversary.

“Perhaps there was a small reference in a stack of materials provided by the Foreign Ministry,” Nalecz reflected, “but that is not the way in which you inform the president about a crucial matter.”

There was national outcry when it emerged that Russia had altered the crash memorial plaque, removing a reference to the “genocide” of the 1940 Katyn crime, when Stalin’s security forces murdered around 22,000 Polish POWs.

Meanwhile, Vice Foreign Minister Henryk Litwin claims that “information about the concerns of the Russians were included in the materials sent to the presidential office.”

The presidential office's outspoken reaction represents the second time that Komorowski has broken ranks with his former Civic Platform party cohorts over the last two weeks.

In reaction to Prime Minister Tusk's announcement that Poland was stalling further compensation to dispossessed pre-war landowners, including claims made by thousands of Jews dispossessed by the Nazis and later communists, Komorowski declared Poland's failure to act “a disgrace”. (nh/pg)

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